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Ohio Contractors Attend Washington, D.C. Fly-In; Keep The Pressure on for a Long-Term Fix of Highway Trust Fund
Last week, members of the Ohio Contractors Association, including President Chris Runyan and Legislative Affairs Director Angela Van Fossen, attended the National Transportation Construction Coalition Fly-In to Washington, D.C. ARTBA and AGC were co-hosts of the event and sponsored a legislative briefing for attendees, with members of Congress and a representative of the Trump administration sharing their perspectives and advice, before sending them to Capitol Hill Wednesday for a full day of meetings.
Many thanks to Brian Burgett of Kokosing Construction Co., George Palko of The Great Lakes Construction Co., and Joe Prus of Prus Construction Co., all of whom scheduled our many meetings with our Ohio legislators. This year we had a record number of participants from Ohio. Thirty members and association representatives attended, meeting with nearly all of the members or staff of Ohio’s congressional delegation.
While acknowledging our appreciation for the FAST Act, we continued the discussion about the need for Congress to be proactive in dedicating a stable source of funding for the Highway Trust Fund before the FAST Act expires in 2020. At that point there will be a 40% reduction in funds for the program, as the use of general revenue funds to support the program expires. We asked Ohio’s representatives and Senators to include a permanent Trust Fund fix instead of cobbling together gimmicky funding sources that were utilized in the FAST Act. Our emphasis was put on utilizing a funding source with stability and predictability for our members and state DOTs.
Many thanks to the OCA members who made the trip to Washington, D.C. to join us in meeting with Ohio’s members of Congress.
ODOT announces DBE MSV Informational
On Tuesday, June 12, ODOT will be holding a “DBE Bootcamp Orientation” from 10:00 a.m. to noon at ODOT Central Office to provide information on the upcoming changes to procedures regarding DBE Material and Supplies Vendors (DBE MSVs). Prime contractors and DBE MSVs are encouraged to attend. For more information and to register for the event, click here. The event will be available by webinar.
Bid Proposals For The New Miami Township Fire-Rescue Station 81
Miami Township, Greene County, Ohio
Bids for this project will be due June 11, 2018. For additional details, click here.
Union Pension Crisis Now in Hands of Lawmakers
Sixteen members of Congress held their third meeting May 17 to come up with a solution for the insolvency issues facing more than 100 pension plans for unionized workers and retirees. More than a million people are part of multiemployer pension plans that are failing, and the House-Senate Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans has until November to come up with a proposal. Multiemployer plans are collectively bargained between unions and employers in the same industry, such as trucking or construction. The largest financially strapped multiemployer plan is the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund. It has nearly 400,000 retirees and is racing toward insolvency.
Here’s a look at the committee members from Ohio:
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
Brown is co-chair of the select committee. He’s up for re-election in 2018 and will face Jim Renacci (R-Ohio), a current House member who won the GOP primary for Senate in Brown’s district. He introduced the Butch Lewis Act (S. 2197) in 2017, which would provide government-backed loans to financially struggling plans while avoiding cuts to retiree benefits. The bill has attracted 22 co-sponsors in the Senate, all Democrats. Ohio is home to one of the highest numbers of Central States employees and retirees, numbering close to 44,000, and also includes more than 6,000 UMWA pension plan retirees.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio)
Portman isn’t up for re-election until 2022.
In 2015, he introduced the Pension Accountability Act (S. 489), which would amend the voting procedure for plans seeking approval from members to cut pension benefits after the Treasury Department has approved such cuts under existing law. The measure has attracted three co-sponsors, all Republicans. He hasn’t publicly supported any of the current legislative proposals.
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